The dominant story of this LPGA season has been outstanding parity. Through 29 events this season, only two players – Jeeno Thitikul and Miyu Yamashita – have won multiple times. Until Thitikul pulled one unlikely comeback at Buick LPGA Shanghai three weeks ago, there were zero repeat winners.
That historic run of unique winners – 26 in the first 25 events, including a team race – was understandably the headline of the 2025 season. But as various winners lifted trophies week after week, a standout season – one that has been about more than wins – has flown under the radar.
The 22-year-old Thitikul opened the season as world number 2, but passed Nelly Korda for first place in August. Korda is winless this season after winning seven times in 2024. Thitikul won the Mizuho Americas Open in May and has been an ever-present force on the LPGA leaderboards this season. With three events remaining, Thitikul runs the LPGA in these stroke earned categories: Total Percentage, Birdie or Better, Avoiding the Gravel, Par 3, Par 4 and Top-10 Finishes. (She is also fourth at 5, but has only 0.01 shots from first.) Per Justin RayThitikul can become the first player to finish first in par 3, 4 and 5 scoring in a single season since Lorena Ochoa did it in 2008. Thitikul also leads in points for the CME Globe Race, Rolex Player of the Year and Aon Risk Reward Challenge.
Thitikul wins Buick LPGA Shanghai
But there is more.
Thitikul also leads the LPGA in scoring average with 68.877 through 65 rounds. She is .712 strokes better than Minjee Lee, who is in second place. Thitikul has shot under par in 80% of her rounds, and 63% this year have been in the 60s. She is .177 strokes behind Annika Sorenstam for the best single-season scoring average in LPGA history.
How good was Thitikul in 2025? A year after Korda made a great run to win seven times, Thitikul has been just as good, if not better, with just two wins to show for it.
The variety of LPGA winners has masked just how good Jeeno Thitikul has been this season. A few heartbreaks (Evian, Kroger, FM) away from a ridiculous year.
For fun, a statistical comparison between Jeeno’s 2025 and Nelly’s 2024. pic.twitter.com/T8oCfEyTLT
— Josh Schrock (@Schrock_And_Awe) November 4, 2025
As good as Thitikul has been, she has also endured a number of crushing defeats.
She led the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship halfway through, but saw Minjee Lee flying by her on the weekend to claim the title. She had a hand in the trophy in Evian, but an absurd finish by Grace Kim – both in regulation and in the playoff – allowed the Australian to clinch the big win. Thitikul had the Kroger championship, but won until she four-putted the 72nd hole to hand the tour to Charley Hull. A bogey on the 17th hole on Sunday cost her FM Championship at TPC Boston.
But despite a series of pains, Thitikul has shown the ability and resilience to bounce back and heal quickly.
“I just kept telling myself whatever (happens) in dramatic events, not only in Cincinnati, but this year, I just told myself I have to win it myself,” Thitikuk said after winning the Buick LPGA Shanghai a few weeks after her meltdown at Kroger. “The winner is only one player and then I have to win it myself, and then when it’s my time, I’ll want to be in that moment again and do it again myself.
“I have nothing to fear anymore.”
Thitikul has consistently shown an impressive outlook for a 22-year-old. She has a relentless drive to improve, but for now she seems to be free of the burden of expectation. She is still looking for her first big win. The same thing that has weighed down many of the game’s best is something Thitikul seems unperturbed about.
“I just answer to myself if I’m not going to win any majors (until) I retire, if I’m going to regret it or be sad about it, and I’d say I’m not,” Thitikul said at the Chevron Championship. “I’m thinking about all the things I’ve done here on the tour, (if) I’ve done enough, and then I give it all 100 percent, and I just let it be more natural. If I get it, I’ll get it. If not, it’s just more things to do, more than life, more than golf.”
She explained that freedom at the KPMG Women’s PGA: “Any degree, I just want to make the cut, to be honest. It would be really great to win it and I can definitely say it would be like everyone dreams of winning a major. For me, what I have now under my belt, I’m very happy with everything I’ve achieved. If I can achieve it, if I didn’t have something, that would be great.”
Thitikul is a quiet and humble world beater in a league that calls for megawatt star power. It has a relentless drive for greatness, but it is sufficiently grounded to be fulfilled already with a journey that has gone further than he ever imagined.
“I swear when I was young, I only thought about winning one tournament, just one LPGA tournament would be enough for me,” Thitikul said at the FM Championship after regaining her position as No. 1 of the World. “But here, where I am now, I don’t know how I got (here).
Jeeno Thitikul is not complacent. The emotions that poured out of her after returning to Shanghai showed that she is driven by failure. That a grounded perspective does not equal weakness.
It’s part of what has made for an incredible season — one that’s just the beginning for Jeeno Thitikul.
